Join volunteers around the globe and help clean the world’s waterways. Teams will pick up trash along the shore of Lake Crabtree and its connecting creeks. Gloves, bags and other supplies are provided by the park. We’ll raffle off prizes and learn why it’s important to educate others about litter. Individuals and groups are welcome. Make a difference in your community! Preregistration is required. Call 919-460-2723 to sign up.

…and in comes winter. Autumn, also known as fall, is the season of the harvest and when trees famously drop their leaves. We’ll answer your questions about fall and talk about the different ways that plants get ready for winter. Preregistration required, mail in the registration form with payment or drop it off at the park office. Call 919-460-3355 for more information.

This free, park-wide event will investigate the darker side of nature. Learn about bats, snakes, spiders and other ‘creepy-crawlies’ with unfortunate and undeserved reputations. You can make dreadful decorations or creepy crafts, go on a scary scavenger hunt, listen to spooky stories and tour our park in the dark during a haunted hike. Join us in celebrating the night and come in costume if you like. Come anytime for some family fun; no registration or sign up necessary for the main event, but please preregister for one of our night hikes (7:15–8:45 p.m.). Please specify which hike you prefer when you register.

Discover the night world with your family and take a guided walk outdoors with a park naturalist. Walking after dark with children is a whole different experience that stimulates all our senses when everything is quiet and goes to sleep-or wakes up.

In celebration of the seventh annual Take a Child Outside week, Prairie Ridge Ecostation will highlight the importance of outdoor play for children of all ages by unveiling the Museum’s new Nature PlaySpace, a learning environment designed for younger children to explore the outdoors using natural materials. Our Take a Child Outside activities begin at 10:00 a.m. with nature crafts and story time, and continue with a 10:30 ladybug hunt. At 11:00, we will unveil our new Nature PlaySpace with a vine-cutting ceremony and refreshments. After the vine cutting, the fun continues with exciting nature activities throughout the grounds until 1:00pm!

Dress for the weather and wear closed-toe shoes. For more information contact Cathy Fergen at cathy.fergen@naturalsciences.org or 919.707.8878.

The Nature PlaySpace is made possible, in part, by the PNC Foundation Grow Up Great, an early childhood initiative.

Join a Park Ranger to learn general information about the animals that call William B. Umstead State Park home. All ages welcome! Reservations required. Please call 919-571-4170 or stop in at the Visitor Center for more information and reservations.
Meet at: Crabtee Creek Large Shelter #1 located off Hwy 70 (Glenwood Avenue)

Join a park ranger on a half-mile hike on Oak Rock Trail and see if you can spot wildlife in the woods along the trail. (No Strollers Please) Attendees may want to bring hiking shoes/boots, insect repellent, and binoculars. Reservations required. Please call 919-571-4170 or stop in at the Visitor Center for more information and reservations. Limit 10
Meet at: Crabtree Creek Small Parking Lot/Oak Rock Trail located off Hwy 70 (Glenwood Avenue)

Join a Park Ranger for a brief talk and a walk around the area. We will talk about basic life cycles of butterflies and moths and concentrate on the larval life stage of the caterpillar. These insects come in bright colors some have horns some mimic other animals and some can sting you. Come see these fascinating creatures. Reservations required. Please call 919-571-4170 or stop in at the Visitor Center for more information and reservations. Limit 15
Meet at: Visitor Center located off Hwy 70 (Glenwood Avenue)

The land that is now the park has transitioned from forest to farm to park. Join a park ranger for a hike along Oak Rock Trail to see and discuss signs of past land use. The hike will be a half mile long and begin from the Oak Rock Trailhead. Reservations required. Please call 919-571-4170 or stop in at the Visitor Center for more information and reservations. Limit 30
Meet at: Crabtree Creek Small Parking Lot/Oak Rock Trail located off Hwy 70 (Glenwood Avenue)

Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders. But here at Lake Crabtree, we’ve got arachnophilia, which means we love spiders! Come learn about what spiders do to survive, how to identify them, and why there’s nothing to be afraid of unless you’re a delicious insect.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider went up the waterspout…but who was he, really? What were his motivations? We’re kicking off Take A Child Outside Week with an investigation of Lake Crabtree’s eight-legged inhabitants. Take your new skills home and become a spider detective.

Program leaders will catch fish and other aquatic wildlife using a variety of methods. We’ll spend time observing and identifying the critters we catch, and learn basic fish anatomy and life history. If time allows, we’ll play a game to demonstrate an aquatic food web.

Always wondered what the trees in your yard are, but can’t tell the difference between an oak and a pine? Then this is the program for you! We’ll learn how to use a dichotomous key then walk around the park to practice identifying some common species.

There are more kinds of moths than there are butterflies, yet butterflies get all the attention. This night program will give moths the ‘spotlight.’ We’ll focus on identifying moths as well as ways to attract them to your backyard so you can know which ones live there.

Discover the amazing world of mushrooms and learn about these organisms that are neither plant nor animal. Learn how to identify some of the more common species found in our area and discover the important role they play in our ecosystem.

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About Us

We are a homeschooling family in the Raleigh, NC area. Our little ones are pre-K and 1st grade, so we are still pretty new at this homeschooling thing, but loving it! We spend most of our days out and about. Experiencing life and the many fun educational things that seem to always be going on around here.